


Sonny's Vows to Arianna Grace

by LinRow12



Category: Days of Our Lives
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-27
Updated: 2014-05-06
Packaged: 2018-01-17 04:43:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1374304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LinRow12/pseuds/LinRow12
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On the day of her christening, Sonny vowed to be there for his goddaughter for three specific events. Here are those events.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Steps

**Author's Note:**

> So I was having Sonny daddy feels during the WilSon drought last week and this came out of it. Hope you like it! First time writer so I appreciate any and all feedback!
> 
> Also, I've never had kids so sorry in advance if my timing is a bit off for this one.

_“I vow to be there for her life challenges, like taking her first steps, dealing with her heartbreak, her very first one, and having children of her own.”_

**First Steps**

“Come on Ari! Come to Daddy!”

Sonny came home from work one day to find Will on his knees, squatting next to the couch, arms extended towards his baby daughter. Arianna, for her part, was standing upright on the other side, one hand clinging to a couch cushion, the other in her mouth. She looked at her dad with interest while she sucked on her fingers but did not move from her spot.

“Come on Ari! Come here!” Will said again

Sonny smiled to himself as he set his bag down and took off his jacket. “So, I’m guessing no progress today either?” Sonny said, coming to stand behind him.

Will sighed and turned to look at his husband. “No, I tried everything. I tried encouraging her, calling her, bribing her…”

“You bribed a baby?” Sonny interrupted “With what?”

“A cookie.” Will admitted sheepishly “It didn’t work. Well not for me anyway. She still got the cookie because I ended up feeling guilty.”

“Oh Will.” Sonny laughed. He sat down next to him. “You can’t force Ari to walk, she needs to come to it on her own.”

Will pulled Ari towards him and sat her in front of him. He ran his hand through her soft hair while she entertained herself with a rubber ball that Sonny had handed her.

“She’s a little over a year old Sonny! She’s supposed to be walking on her own by now. What if it’s a delay in development?” Will said worriedly

“Relax baby. She’s can stand, she can squat and she walks while holding our hands. She’s almost there, it’s just going to take a bit more time.” Sonny said reassuringly

Will sighed again as he watched Ari, “I’m overreacting again aren’t I?”

Sonny slid an arm around Will and squeezed his shoulder, “You’re being her dad, it’s ok to freak out.”

“Yeah but I seem be doing it a lot more than necessary.”

“True, you could ease up a bit.” Sonny laughed

“Hey!” Will shoved Sonny playfully “You weren’t supposed to agree with that!”

But Sonny only laughed again causing Will to shove him harder. Unfortunately when he did, he also jostled Ari and the rubber ball flew out her tiny hand and rolled across the room. Ari gave a small cry of surprise.

“Aw, look what you did Will.” Sonny accused playfully

“It’s not my fault! You provoked me!” Will cried in mock outrage

“Oh please. One sec Ari, I’ll get your ball for you.” Sonny got up and crossed the room. He was about to bend down to pick up the ball when he heard a hushed—“Sonny!”

“What?”

Sonny turned to see Will in the same position as before, Ari still in front of him, but now she was standing. Her blue eyes were trained on the ball and she looked focused. Or however focused a one-year-old could be.

“I think this could be it!” Will whispered excitedly. Sonny put up a hand to calm him even though his own heart was starting to do flips. He bent down and placed the ball so it was closer to her yet still a few feet away. And then they waited.

At first Ari just stared at the ball. Then she stretched her little arms out in front of her. She then took an unsteady step forward. Will gave a gasp but Sonny quickly put a finger to his lips. Not yet. Don’t celebrate yet.

Ari looked down as if she herself couldn’t believe what she had done. Then she glanced back to her ball and made another unsteady step towards it. Then another one, and another one and another one. Sonny stood close by in case she fell over but Ari made it to her ball. She walked up right next to it and then plopped down to grab with both hands. She began to play with it calmly as if she hadn’t just achieved a great milestone in her young life. As if the ability to walk for the first time was a nonchalant event.

Well she was a baby, how was she supposed to understand?

But her daddies did. They understood the gravity of the situation. And they were still motionless in their respective places. Too overwhelmed with emotion to even talk.

Will moved first. He crawled next to Ari and pulled her onto his lap. She looked up at him with with baby like curiosity. “You spectacular child. You did it. You walked on your own.” Will whispered in awe. He kissed Ari all over her face and held her close.

Sonny came over to the two of them. To the two most important people in his life: his husband and his little girl. “She’s our spectacular child.” Sonny stated. He kissed Ari on top of her head and then leaned in to give Will a soft kiss. The proud dads smiled at each other.

Sonny wrapped his arms around Will and Ari. He felt incredibly lucky for his life. For having Will and especially, for having Ari. And he felt incredibly blessed to be able to witness her big milestone. Even if she herself didn’t realize what exactly that was. Sonny knew though and for now, that was enough for the both of them.


	2. First Hearbreak

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sonny dreaded the day Ari would come home with a broken heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait between chapters but this one's longer so I'm forgiven right? :)

**First Heartbreak**

“So, how’s Vegas?” Sonny asked Will one night over the phone.

“Sonny, it’s so incredible. We need to take a trip down here stat.” Will’s voice through the line portrayed his excitement. “This place is so vibrant and alive. It’s just…incredible."

Sonny smiled. It was cute when Will, best selling author Will, was speechless.

“Tell you what, we’ll plan our next vacation there.” Sonny promised.

“We really should. We can walk down the Strip; there are shows we can take Ari to; then you and I can hit casinos. There’s just so much to do.” Will said excitedly.

“Gambling? Will, you don’t gamble.”

“I do so! I play the lotto!”

“And that’s your limit!” Sonny laughed “Seriously babe, you are way too money conscious to gamble.”

“True, but come on, if we’re going to be in Vegas I have to hit a few slot machines! It’s only natural!”

“Uh huh. Does that mean you’ve already been playing?”

“Nah, not this time. I don’t have my lucky charm.”

“And what would that be?”

“You, dummy.”

“Cheeseball.” Sonny said, but he couldn’t help the huge grin from spreading across his face.

“Well, I better get to bed, I have a early call in tomorrow.” Will said, yawning.  “Is Ari there? I want to say hi.”

“No she’s not. She’s with her friends and Matt.” Sonny said, referring to Ari’s boyfriend.

“Isn’t it a bit late for her to still be out?” Will asked, immediately worried.

“Will, it’s only nine thirty and Ari knows her curfew well. You’ve done a good job of cementing it in her brain.”

“Maybe I should call her just to be sure…”

“Listen Horton, you do that and I am not responsible for the telling off you’re going to get on top of a week of the silent treatment. Do you need me to remind you of the last time?”

“Ok fine, you made your point. But, please text me once she gets home?”

“Alright, I will.”

“Thanks. Ok, goodnight. Love you Kiriakis.”

“Love you Horton. Bye.”

Sonny hung up with a sad smile on his face. Even though he was proud of his husband for being so successful with his writing that he got the chance to go on book tours; he still missed him when he was gone.

‘ _Guess it’s my karma for taking all those business trips to Chicago for the club without Will.’_ Sonny mused.

A key in the front door pulled Sonny from his thoughts. Sounded like Ari was home early. Really early. Sonny wasn’t expecting his daughter home for another hour.

The door opened and Ari stepped in, bringing in the cold from the January night.

“Hey honey, you’re home early.” Sonny called from the couch. “Did something happen with Matt?”

“No, I was just tired.” Ari said, not meeting his gaze as she took off her jacket and boots.

Sonny looked at her closely, “Did you two have a fight?”

“No Papa. Really, I just wanted to come home early.”

“Oh ok. Well if you’re not too tired, do you want to watch a movie with me? We can watch a horror one since Dad’s not here.” Sonny said with a grin.

“No thanks, I have a bit of a headache too. I’m just gonna go to bed early.” Ari said, fidgeting with her purse strap.

“Ok then. Goodnight sweetie.” Sonny replied slightly confused at her quiet demeanor.

“Night.” Ari quickly went upstairs.

Sonny frowned. It wasn’t like Ari to be so quiet and not immediately tell him what was wrong. One thing he prided himself on was how close he and Ari were. But then again, she was fourteen. According to Sami, teenage girls were on a different wavelength. She had told Will and Sonny on the eve of Ari’s thirteenth birthday that the teenage years were tough for girls and to give support, but also space when she needed it. Looks like one of those space-giving times were here.

Sonny texted Will like promised and figured he had already gone to bed when he didn’t get an immediate response back. Sonny suddenly shivered, there was still a chill in the air from when Ari came in and he was starting to get cold. He headed upstairs to his and Will’s room to find something to wear over his T-shirt. He found a Salem U alumni sweatshirt of Will’s and slipped it on. The smell of Will enveloped him and he smiled for the comfort. He started to head back downstairs, but paused as he passed Ari’s room. ‘ _I’ll just check on her one last time for the night’_ he thought. As he put his hand on the doorknob he heard something that made him stop. What was that? He listened harder. He heard it again. Sobs. Ari was crying.

Sonny knocked on the door “Ari? Are you alright?”

A sniffle, clearing of throat. “I’m fine. I just want to be left alone.” Came a hoarse response.

“You’re not fine and I’m not leaving.” No response. “Arianna I heard you crying. Open the door and tell me what’s wrong.” Sonny said sharply. Space be damned.

Another sniffle, then the sound of shuffling feet. The door opened slowly.

“Finally, now tell me—“ Sonny cut off when he saw Ari’s face. Her blue eyes are red rimmed and her makeup was smudged. She looked like her world was collapsing.

“Ari, what happened?” Sonny asked for what he hoped was for the last time.

Ari took a deep breath, “Matt broke up with me.”

“Oh, I’m sorry sweetpea.” Sonny said, his own heart dropping. The day had come, the one he had feared for ever since Ari had brought Matt home to introduce to her dads as her boyfriend. Her first boyfriend and now her first heartbreak.

“Yeah.” Then Ari’s lip trembled. She flung her arms around Sonny’s middle and broke down sobbing into his sweatshirt.

“Oh honey.” Sonny wrapped his arms around her, rubbing circles on her back soothingly. Damn, it was just as bad as he feared.

Ari cried, she really cried. Heaving and gasping for breath, she let it out against her Papa.

Sonny let her cry and when she finally slowed down a bit, he led her to her bed and sat them both down. Ari rested her head against his shoulder.

“Are you ok honey?” Sonny asked softly.

“No.” Ari sniffed. Sonny reached for a tissue on her bedside table and handed it to her.

“Thanks.” Ari said wiping her eyes and blowing her nose.

“So, how did this happen? You said you two didn’t get into a fight.” Sonny asked.

“We didn’t. He just decided to break up with me. I didn’t even see it coming.” Ari said, tossing the soggy tissue in the trash.

“Wow, what a jerk.” Asshole was what Sonny really wanted to say but he made an effort not to swear in front of Ari.

“It was so humiliating Papa. We were with our friends in the square and I pulled him aside to ask him what was wrong with him because he had been ignoring me all night and he goes, ‘I don’t want us to date anymore.’ Then he just goes back to his friends like it wasn't a big deal. And then everyone is looking at me with pity and I just found out five minutes ago from Sheila that it was because Matt had already told everyone at school today that we were over. So apparently I was the last one to know that my boyfriend dumped me.” By now Ari was crying again.

Sonny pulled Ari close to him again, even though what he really wanted to do was track this boy down and tear him limb from limb. Then he could have E.J. dispose of the body. Might as well use their connections to the DiMeras right?

“I’m surprised your friends didn’t tell you anything earlier. Doesn’t seem like good friends to me.” Sonny noted.

“No, that’s my fault. They were trying to tell me something was up but I wasn’t listening. I was too busy trying to figure out why Matt was ignoring me. I was so wrapped up in him, pretty much obsessed. I was pathetic.”

“No, you weren’t.” Sonny said firmly. “You were with your boyfriend. Ok sure, sometimes when I heard you talking about him I was worried you were a _bit_ too attached. But it’s only natural to be, um, infatuated with your first.”

Ari gave him a look. One he gets from Will all the time. The-you’re-not-fooling-me-look.

Sonny chuckled. “Sweetheart all I’m saying is it’s totally normal for your first not to be the one you spend the rest of your life with.” he said.

“It worked out for Daddy.” Ari argued “I heard the stories from Mom, you were his best friend when he came out and then you two fell for each other. Classic love story.”

“I can tell you it was not a smooth ride to get to where we are.”

“But still, you have each other. I would want to have a love like yours some day.” Ari mumbled. Then she looked up with wide eyes. “Oh my God.”

Sonny frowned, “What?”

“I’m jealous of my dads! Oh no, I’ve officially hit rock bottom!” Ari wailed.

“I’ll try not to take offense to that, thank you.” Sonny said drily. Teenagers honestly.

“Well, the point still stands that you two are still together and, may I add, still so in love that it’s embarrassing.” Ari said.

Sonny pretended to be hurt, “We’re embarrassing? I thought we were hip and with the homies?”

“Papa! Nobody says that anymore.” Ari giggled in spite of herself.

“Maybe not, but it did get you to smile.” Sonny said grinning.

Ari sighed, “I just can’t believe I liked someone who would tell my friends before me that we were over. That son of a bitch.”

Sonny looked at her in surprise. “Ari!”

“What? Oh come on, Papa. I’m fourteen, I’ve been exposed to swearing, shockingly.”

“Still, that’s wrong. You can’t call him a son of a bitch.” Sonny paused “You can call him an insufferable asshole though.”

Ari laughed again. She shoved Sonny’s shoulder playfully.

“Listen Ari,” Sonny placed his arm around her, “Heartbreak is a part of growing up.”

“Then I’d like to stop please.”

“Trust me, no one would want that more than me. Well, actually your father might. Unfortunately for the three of us, scientific technology isn’t that advanced yet.” Sonny teased.

“Damn.”

“Ari!”

“Ok fine! Darn.”

“My point,” Sonny said, fighting a smile, “Is that you will move on from this and only get stronger sweetie.”

“Somehow I don’t believe that right now.”

“You will. You know how I know?” Ari looked up at him, “Because I did and you will too.”

Ari looked confused, “What are you talking about?”

“What, you didn’t think I didn’t have my heart broken before I met your dad?”

“Yeah, but it also worked out for you in the end.” Ari pointed out.

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean the broken hearts didn’t hurt. They hurt a whole lot. There was a time when I didn’t think I would ever be happy.”

“What happened?”

“I came back to Salem. And the rest is history.” Sonny said, sweeping his arm in a grand motion.

Ari giggled, “Papa, you’re being cheesy again.”

“Oops. Sorry.” Sonny mock apologized, “But I can promise you this, you will be happy again and it will be with someone who truly appreciates how amazing you are.”

Ari smiled and hugged Sonny. “Thanks Papa. I needed that.”

“Anytime honey.” Sonny held his daughter close.

After a moment, Ari pulled away, wiping her eyes.

“Will you be ok?” Sonny asked, searching her face.

“Yeah, I will. I can’t promise I will be right away, but I will be ok.” Ari said bravely.

“That’s my girl.” Sonny said, giving her a kiss on her head. “Hey I got an idea. You know what you really need right now?” He jumped off her bed.

“Wine and chocolates?” Ari asked as she got up too.

Sonny choked “What-where did you get that idea from?”

“Grandma Sami. She says wine and chocolate cures broken hearts.” Ari said shrugging, although clearly enjoying watching the color drain from her stepfather’s face.

“Well she would know.” Sonny muttered.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” Ari asked innocently.

“Never mind.” Sonny cleared his throat. “How about we save that for when you get older and just stick to some hot chocolate for now?”

Ari grinned, “That sounds great. Can we make popcorn and watch a horror movie too?”

Sonny opened the bedroom room and gestured her to go ahead, “We can do whatever you want, sweetpea.”

As the two headed downstairs, Ari reached down to intertwine her fingers with Sonny’s.


	3. Having Kids of Her Own

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ari's nervous about becoming a mother. Sonny gives her advice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had a bad case of writer's block on this one. Sorry guys.

**Having Kids of Her Own**

 “Sonny!” Will called from the bottom of the stairs, “Sonny, where are you?”

Sonny leaned over the second floor banister to look over at his husband. “What’s up?”

“Ari’s on video chat in the living room. She says she’s got something to tell the both of us.”

“I’m coming!”

Sonny took the stairs two at a time in his hurry to get to the living room. Since his goddaughter/stepdaughter/let’s-be-honest-his-daughter-in-pretty-much-every-way moved to Florida, getting time to talk to her was hard between their schedules and he cherished the moments they finally got the chance.

Entering the room, he saw Will had his tablet propped on the coffee table while sitting on the couch across. Arianna’s face filled the screen, chatting animatedly.

“…for an important trial that’s next week.” Ari was saying as Sonny sat down next to Will.

“Hi Ari. What’s going on?” Sonny asked.

“Hi Papa! I was just telling Dad that Trent is in a meeting and that’s why he’s coming home late tonight.” Ari said, speaking of her husband of a year.

“He leaves you home alone a lot of nights.” Will said worriedly.

Ari rolled her eyes “Daaad, I’m twenty-five. I’m perfectly capable of staying home by myself. Don’t worry, the doors are locked and I won’t stay up too late past my bedtime.”

Sonny smiled and stretched his arm around Will’s shoulder, “Your dad worries about you; don’t be mean Ari.”

“Yeah Ari, don’t be mean.” Will chided.

“Figures you would take his side.”

“Aw, sweetpea, you know I’m always on your side too. Now what’s this news you wanted to tell us?”

“Well, it’s pretty big.”

“Are you alright? Is something wrong?” Will said quickly, leaning forward in his seat.

“Dad! Stop freaking out prematurely! I’m fine! Everything is fine. It’s actually better than fine. It’s great…” Ari started rambling, her finger playing with a strand of hair.

Sonny recognized the quirk; it was something she did whenever she was bursting to tell something.  “Ari, what happened?”

“I’m pregnant!” Ari blurted out breathlessly.

Her dads sat in shock, staring at her through the screen.

“Um, hello? Did the sound go? Can you hear me?” Ari tapped the screen jokingly.

“We, um, we can hear you sweetheart.” Will stammered.

“Still processing the fact that you two will be grandfathers?” Ari grinned.

Sonny finally found his voice, “Ari, this is fantastic! I’m so happy for you sweetheart! This is amazing news!”

Will was quick to jump in, “Oh my God Ari! Congratulations! This is truly amazing! How far are you?”

“Thanks guys. I’m about six weeks along. I went to the doctor’s yesterday and she said everything looked good.” Ari replied excitedly.

“Ari, if you need us in any way, it’s only a quick plane ride. Papa and I can get to you, no problem.” Will said.

“Thanks Dad, I’m fine for now. I’ll let you know if anything changes though.” Ari replied. Her tone was calm, but Sonny noticed that she seemed to be holding something back. Before he could say something about it, Will’s phone beeped.

“Damn, that’s probably my publicist. He’s been telling me to call him all day.” Will said frustrated, checking his texts.

“Go ahead and call him Dad. I’ll still be here.” Ari said.

“Ok then. But when I come back, we’re talking baby shower.” Will promised. Giving Sonny’s hand a quick squeeze, he jumped up and headed towards the study.

“Uh, he was kidding right? He’s not actually thinking of throwing me a baby shower this early, is he?”

“Knowing him, he’s already thought of games to play.” Sonny smirked.

“Oh no!” Ari laughed, “Please help me stop it, you know it’s going to be something really cheesy!”

“I can try, no promises.” Sonny studied Ari through the screen, “Are you happy, sweetpea?”

“I am, really happy.” Ari paused.

“Mhmm, but my Papa senses are telling me something is amiss.” Sonny said knowingly.

Ari sighed, “I’m...I’m scared Papa.”

“Of being a mom?”

“Yeah, it’s such a big responsibility to take care of another human being. I’m totally lost at this. This baby is going to be totally dependent on me. What if I can’t do it?” Ari said worriedly as all of her fears came spilling out.

“Woah, slow down honey! First off, it’s alright to be freaked out, that’s perfectly normal. You can’t expect to know everything right away. But you’ve got nine months to prepare. And some things you only get the hang of with first hand experience. Trust me, it wasn’t all smooth sailing when we were taking care of you and there were three of us then. You’ll get there in the end, I promise.”

“But what if I can’t do it? What if I screw up somehow?” Ari whispered.

Sonny ran a hand through his hair, thinking. Ari was her father’s daughter when it came to insecurities. They both obsessed over them and it took a lot to make them see otherwise. He needed a way to whole heartily convince Ari she could handle motherhood. Finally, a thought occurred to him.

“Do you remember when we rescued Biscuit?” Sonny asked.

Ari frowned, “Our golden retriever? Of course I do. We found him when you took me hiking when I was fifteen.”

“Right, and he was in pretty bad shape remember? Looked like he had been in a fight, he was dirty, gashes everywhere, dehydrated and he had a broken paw. I told you he wouldn’t live and it was best to leave a wild dog alone.” Sonny said.

“And I refused to leave the woods without him.” Ari added.

“Yes, well, you get your stubbornness from your mother.”

Ari laughed, “It worked, didn’t it? You gave in.”

“That’s only because I knew I wouldn’t be able to sway you.”

“The puppy dog eyes helped too.”

“Yes, I’m powerless against the Horton baby blues.”

Ari giggled again.

“So we took him to the vet and she told us she would do her best but not to hold on to too much hope because he was in such bad shape. And then you looked at the vet straight in the eye and said ‘He’ll survive. He’s a fighter.’”

“I was right; he did.”

“Yes he did. Then you used your baby blues again and convinced Dad and I to adopt him once he healed completely.”

“Hey, I was taught to use my powers of persuasion _very_ well.”

“Yeah, who taught you that anyway?” Sonny asked curiously.

“Grandma Sami.” Ari said smugly.

“Why am I not surprised to hear that?” Sonny shook his head.

Ari smiled, “Papa, as much as I enjoyed this walk down the memory lane, what was your point? I know there’s a point.”

“Right, there is. You had so much faith in Biscuit to survive. When he was just a defenseless animal on the brink of death. So, why can’t you have the same, unwavering faith in yourself?” Sonny asked.

Ari looked surprised, “I-I, um--,”

“Furthermore, you took such good care of Biscuit over the years. You were caring and attentive to all his needs.”

“Taking care of a animal is not the same as taking care of a child, Papa.” Ari argued.

“No it’s not. Honestly, it’s a lot scarier. You never stop worrying about them, even when they’re married and out of the house.” Sonny said pointedly.

Ari smiled. “I’m sure. But how will I know I’m prepared?”

“I don’t think it’s about knowing. It’s just about taking it one day at a time. But I know you’re going to rock this motherhood role. You are a going to be a wonderful mother, sweetheart.”

“Th-thanks Papa. That means lot to me.” Ari wiped her eyes, “Ugh, damn hormones!”

Sonny chuckled, his own eyes watering, “Anytime. Also, there’s one more thing I want you to remember.”

“What is it?”

“Biscuit had the whole world against him, but you have Daddy and I supporting you every step of the way.”

“Ok, you need to stop before I completely become a emotional wreck over here.” Ari joked, waving a hand in front of her face.

“Alright I’ll stop.” Sonny grinned. “Love you sweetpea.”

“Love you more, Papa.”

“Not possible.”

At that moment Will came back in the room to see a very emotional daughter and husband sitting there.

“Hey, what happened?” Will sat down and wrapped his arm around Sonny’s shoulders. “I leave for five minutes and come back to Lake Michigan coming out of both of you.”

“You know for a writer babe, you make the worst analogies.” Sonny laughed.

“I do not!”

“Uh, he’s right Daddy. Sorry.” Ari giggled.

“Whatever. It got you both to stop crying.” Will said smugly.

“True, usually your jokes have the opposite effect.” Sonny said, thoughtfully.

Will smacked him upside the head.

“Ow!”

“You deserved that, don’t deny it.” Will turned back to Ari. “Anyway, sweetheart, let’s talk about your baby shower. I already thought of a game the guests can play. Ready? Pin the diaper on the baby!”

Ari and Sonny exchanged a look and burst into laughter. It was good to know that while circumstances were changing, things would be staying the same between the three of them.


End file.
